The Broken King: Book Two of the Breaking World Chronicles

By D. N. Bruce

Far from his home in the Kingdom of Ferinatia, Thorn continues his journey through the dying world of Elcina and the plan to bring the disunited realms and peoples together that he may guide them from the dying world into the safety of his own. With the kingdoms of Isthia and Taroth behind him, and the unexpected departure of the Ranee, Thorn enters the land of the Keegan nomads accompanied by the wolf pup Rark and the living crystal Lorak Ledel intent on finding a way to unify the tribes to his cause and find Princess Ranee who fled here after the destruction in Rata.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Varth prepares for their invasion of his world and his own kingdom. Secretly controlled by the Sorcerer Tarna, now emboldened by the murder of Thorn’s friend Penias, who was known as the Crown Prince Jarel Whitethorn. As Thorn enters the nomad lands, the Varthians stretch out their hand against the nomads and all other kingdoms and peoples who would stand against them, and their sorcerous leader.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Apr 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398479487

D. N. Bruce

D. N. Bruce lives and works on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. He splits his free time between Christian activities, time with friends and family, occasional computer games and movies, and writing.

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About the Author

D. N. Bruce lives and works on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. He splits his free time between Christian activities, time with friends and family, occasional computer games and movies, and writing.

Dedication

For my parents who are always an ever-present help and support.

Copyright Information ©

D. N. Bruce 2023

The right of D. N. Bruce to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398479456 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398479463 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781398479487 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9781398479470 (Audiobook)

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First Published 2023

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Acknowledgement

Thank you to the teams at Austin Macauley Publishers for helping me

with this writing.

The Breaking World Chronicles

Book Two

Chapter 1

Smoke from early evening fires rose in columns from the bustling red, orange and yellow tent encampment, referred to on the Tribunal map as Arkee, spread out beside a dark and dirty lake in one of the valleys nestled between the spoke-like ridges of the mountain-centred island of Netarith. Beyond the encampment and bordering one side of the lake, a wide growth of reeds filled the shallows and banks up to the small muddy creek that ran down from the mountain heights and entered the dirty ash-brown water.

Thorn walked down the ash-covered slope towards the encampment, dressed in orange pants, wrist wraps and the yellow orange mantle around his neckline and shoulders, with his natural blonde hair and fair skin colour. Everything else was secured within the concealed pocket apart from the large skiff construction drawing which was stuck through a loop on the side of his pants. He shivered from the cold breeze as he walked down the slope and saw a small flat orange skiff rise amid the sprawling tents. The skiff, like many others he could see landed around the encampment, were constructed the same as the small black skiff he currently held within the Pirate king’s nestling stone. The simple wood and cloth skiffs had a storage area at the front, guide seat in the centre and collapsible tent sleeping area at the back, and long booms that joined at the front and spread out to the sides and supported large spreading fan-like ribbed sails on either side.

A fiery red and orange great hawk that appeared to be made from flames took flight from its front and flew towards him and dragged the skiff around by ropes, like a horse-drawn cart that floated through the air. The great hawk drawn skiff flew towards him and Thorn saw that there were bundles of reeds, baskets and bags and pots tied to the sides of the skiff between the swept back booms and the skiff itself. Six people knelt upon the flat deck of the small skiff and wore head to toe orange felt skin-tight padded clothing with woven cords sewn into the felt for strength, along with leather and reeds sewn over the top in patches as armour. Each one was painted in a similar pattern of orange shades, with transparent crystal over their eyes.

As they came closer, he noticed that their faces were painted and decorated in the form of ornamental masks with lines and circles to display the features of what he hoped were mythical or at very least, ugly monsters. Two of them packed away the tent from the back of the skiff while another three strung their bows, and the last one sat on the guide seat and controlled the skiff; a large glowing fiery red and orange crystal sewn into the clothing on his back and bright yellow cloth wrapped around his shoulders and neckline like the one Thorn now wore, to indicate that he was that skiff’s guide.

Thorn continued down the slope in the hope that it was just a coincidence that the skiff flew towards him, and then watched as it dropped down; he saw five of the crouching figures leap from the deck while it was still high and drop down to the ground with the help of ropes, that were released and drew back up onto the skiff. The skiff neared him, and they moved around to flank him with their readied bows that were woven reeds with strong cord rather than the stone and mushroom wood crossbows the other realms used. The Guide rose and gave a call, and the great hawk dropped back and landed in the front of the skiff which made it wobble a bit unsteadily. The four flanking figures, who appeared by their size and gait to be only youths, knocked their arrows to fire as they walked towards him and Thorn dropped into a defensive stance and prepared to attack, even though he still felt weak and tired from the earlier fights.

‘Don’t move, murderer,’ said the apparent leader of the five in another language he knew, and suspected was Keegan, ‘try to run and we’ll pin you to the ground.’

‘Say, I come with open hand, Brother,’ Rark growled quickly. ‘I think it’s their greeting. I heard one of the nomad slaves say it once.’

‘I come with open hand, Brother,’ Thorn said in the Keegan language.

‘You are no brother to me, murderer,’ the older teenage Guide said in anger.

‘Wedara,’ another of them said, ‘hold on. Wadris said that the murderer was Varthian.’

The first one glanced from him to Thorn and looked him up and down in confusion.

‘Look at him,’ another said, ‘he speaks the truth. He’s just an unknown guide who has joined the journey.’

‘No Guide would come back here without anything to show for it,’ another boy said, ‘we’d better take him to the Chieftain.’

‘If he’s a Guide, then he’s a dead one,’ another said, ‘where’s his werak? And where’s his sky vine? You don’t come to the reed groves without first gathering a Werak from the fire caves and a sky vine from the poison swamps. We’re leaving in just over a day.’

‘The Chieftain will know what to do,’ another youth said.

‘I’m not letting him on my skiff,’ the accusing leader said, ‘we’ll walk.’

‘Urash take,’ the leader said in a clear voice and then gestured towards his skiff.

Suddenly, the large great hawk exploded into a mass of fiery light that engulfed the bow of the skiff and washed across it to the stern and left vacant air. The mass of fiery light flew around in a slow wide curve and then converged and accelerated and dove into the large crystal on the teen’s back, and then almost instantly burst out and flew around and formed into the shape of a small hawk perched upon the teen’s shoulder.

‘Wevin, skip down and tell them we’re coming,’ the leader of the five teens said and set off down the slope and Thorn followed along silently.

‘He’s a sorcerer,’ Rark growled worriedly.

‘It was not sorcery that captured the skiff, young wolf-clanner,’ the small crystal Lorak Ledel said, ‘the crystal on his back is a Werak, another species of crystal kin like me. They are larger and simpler in thought.’

‘Like a Haregan,’ Rark growled in amusement.

‘They follow simple instructions and can act upon the world and like all of us have a form of containment,’ the small white crystal Lorak continued and ignored Rark’s comment, ‘the Werakee Keegan use them to hold their skiffs while hunting or gathering; that skiff would be about the limit of what it could hold.’

‘How does he contain it?’ Thorn whispered.

‘Silence, boy,’ one of the teenagers said as they walked down the slope towards the encampment, ‘we are taking you to the Chieftain. Wevin, get going.’

‘And then to the waste pit, probably,’ another boy said in amusement, ‘or what’s left of you after his wolves tear you apart.’

‘Wevin,’ the leader said.

The younger boy sighed and then turned and leaped into the air as two very broad reed reinforced cloth gliding wings sprung out from his back and flew down the slope and then out across the gathering of skiffs.

‘Okay,’ Thorn whispered, and glanced around the others there and saw similar bulges on their backs.

‘Reed reinforced gliding wings,’ Ledel said, ‘simple enough. They use them to skip from skiff to skiff while in flight, and so they fall slower.’

‘So that there is plenty of time for a skiff to fly down and catch them if they fall,’ Thorn whispered and nodded in understanding, ‘and the crystals?’

‘According to the scribes of Astia,’ Ledel said, ‘the Werak and any of the crystal kin like me can form a field of size and shape instability, and force the mass down within a compressed field, which we can then contain within our own crystalline matrix. The Astians theorised that it was a way to capture and consume insects and small animals around us, since our species sessile nature, makes your form of hunting impossible.’

‘Like a Keplin then,’ Thorn whispered, ‘but limited to one containment at a time.’

‘There was one of them on that pirate skiff, over the fire pot,’ Rark growled.

‘That was more like the glowing algae in crystal containers we used to light our way under Rata,’ Thorn whispered in his own language as they approached the closest of the skiffs with their tents, ‘but that skiff is clearly of nomad construction.’

‘I said silence,’ the teenage Guide said and poked his back with the arrow.

‘Back off,’ Thorn said in annoyance as he spun around to face him.

‘Or what?’ the teenaged guide asked in amusement.

‘Or I’ll knock those bows aside and leave you here in the ash,’ Thorn said fearlessly.

The leader grunted in amusement and then stabbed the arrow towards him, and Thorn snapped a hand up and deflected it, and then twisted and punched into the leader’s face; and then leaped back as the two who were on either side of him brought their bows around, and he latched one hand onto each of their bows and slammed them and his fists into their faces. As they fell backward, he spun and swept the legs of the last two and then leaped forward and landed a punch into the sides of their faces as he landed at kneel between them.

He rose to his feet and walked onward along the well walked path towards a larger ship that was landed in the middle. The five youths struggled to their feet and stumbled along after him, though kept their distance and many others emerged from their landed skiffs and followed curiously.

‘Black sails,’ a youth called from atop a skiff nearby.

Thorn followed his gaze towards a skiff that flew across and dropped down towards the larger ship, and Thorn saw that it was like the skiff he had concealed within the nestling stone; the large black sails a noticeable difference from the colourful orange, red and yellow skiffs of different sizes landed around them. Thorn walked towards the Chieftain’s large ship that was basically a much larger version of the woven reed skiffs that was so large it had a single interior deck with a ramp up into it. As he approached, he slowed as several men in the same design clothing though entirely black; and carried short sword length staves stuck through their belts; one of them with the yellow of a guide around his shoulders.

He followed them up the ramp into the wood and reed ship and saw that its interior was set out like a single great hall, with a large stone hearth in the centre, and at the far end of the hall was a seated area with padded felt mats for several people to sit before the raised area at the end. Upon the dais at the far end sat a man, flanked by large fiery red wolves, clearly in the position of prominence for the hall. The Chieftain, who wore the yellow of the guides around his shoulders, wore two forearm-sized crystals tied into his back, visible as he sat and talked with a man who knelt beside him. The three black clothed men who Thorn suspected were sorcerers walked forward towards the Chieftain of the Werakee clan of the Keegan and gave a respectful bow.

‘Chieftain, we were just passing Netarith and saw your colours,’ the leader of the three sorcerers said as he approached.

‘Your arrival is fortunate, Keeper, we have need of your intervention,’ the Chieftain said as he rose to his feet, ‘we have discovered a sorcerous murder of a Guide on his quest for recognition. The boy had barely dressed for his journey when he was cruelly killed by a sorcerer.’

‘What makes you say it was a sorcerer?’ one of the black clothed men asked curiously.

‘The boy was burned inside by fire,’ a woman said from the side, her clothes and face covering the same, though around her shoulders, waist and forearms she wore grey cloth as though to indicate that she was in some way subservient, ‘and yet his clothing and skin were untouched. I suspect that it was a fire discipline charm, possibly heart fire charm.’

Mumbled comments filled the hall and the Chieftain glanced at her and waved his hand for her to be silent.

‘Is that so, Witch?’ one of the black dressed men said curiously, ‘no one I know, who knows that charm, would freely murder a boy on the guide quest. What could be the purpose?’

‘There is more,’ the Chieftain said, ‘this morning, out at the edge of the reed field a skiff took flight, and its young guide Wentar was left nearly dead where he lay. He reports that the Varthian who attacked him wore the blue of the Tribunal.’

‘Keeper,’ another man said from the side, ‘I followed the trail left by the murderer to a place where a ship had been landed, a stone sky ship by its impressions. Also,’ the man who was clearly one of the great hawk riders said, ‘there were eight guide bundles taken, and only six accounted for. Apart from the five known to be on the quest, the dead boy had one, and his murderer had another. There may be more than one—’

‘The last one is mine,’ Thorn said as he walked forward, ‘I came to the arch, and found the boy dead. I heard you approach and hid myself. I thought it necessary to come and speak to the Chieftain of what I saw.’

‘And what did you see, young Guide?’ the Chieftain asked.

‘No more than you, it seems,’ Thorn said, ‘I saw the dead guide and I heard your great hawks. I saw no ship or sorcerer, though his tracks were…were different.’

‘Very well,’ the Chieftain said, ‘from what clan do you come? You are clearly no Werakee.’

Thorn glanced from him to the sorcerers who were looking at him and hesitated as though nervous.

‘Save me from outcasts,’ one of the Sorcerers said, ‘how did you reach Netarith?’

‘Dropped off by a trade ship, no doubt,’ the Chieftain said with a dismissing hand, ‘what is your name, boy?’

‘Tien,’ Thorn said simply.

‘Tien,’ one of the sorcerers said, ‘the Tialain heritage. I didn’t even know there were any Tialain left. You do have the colour and bearing of a Tialain.’

‘I’ve been taught that the last of that honoured heritage died a century passed,’ another sorcerer said, and then walked towards him and raised his hand and it glowed with green fire with strange brown streaks flashing through it, ‘let’s see. How curious. The Tialain speaks the truth. He does have the blood of Tian flowing through his veins.’

‘Well young Tialain,’ the Chieftain said, ‘you’ve much to do. You’ve until tomorrow evening to prepare your skiff, and the following morning we will fly for the first hunt. If you are not on the wind by then you will be left behind.’

‘Yes, Chieftain,’ Thorn said and turned towards the door and then turned back, ‘there was nothing at the place where the ship was landed?’

‘No,’ the hawk rider said, ‘what of it?’

‘Why would they bring a stone sky ship and then steal a skiff,’ Thorn said, ‘and why would they kill a young guide and steal clothing unless they were trying to hide among us.’

‘We will investigate the matter,’ the sorcerer said and waved for him to go.

‘Chieftain,’ Thorn said and nodded to him, and then nodded to the black clad men and departed.

Thorn walked through the five boys who stepped aside for him and then came to a stop as an older guide stepped in and blocked his path.

‘Tien of Clan Tialain,’ the guide said firmly, ‘you took down Wedara and his boys and left them in the ash.’

‘They got in my way,’ Thorn said firmly.

‘Wedara,’ the man said, and Thorn turned to look at the older teenager; his expression unreadable beneath his face coverings.

‘Guide Tien,’ the youth said, ‘I challenged you and lost. Take this as trophy of your victory,’ he said and pulled off his bow and quiver full of arrows, and held it out to Thorn, who frowned and then took it and held it in his hands.

‘Guide Tien,’ another youth said, ‘I challenged you and lost. Take this as a trophy of your victory,’ and handed him a stone knife with leather sheath.

‘Guide Tien,’ a third youth said and then hesitated and glanced at the man who was behind Thorn, ‘I challenged you and lost. Take this as a trophy of your victory,’ he said and unslung a rope from his shoulder and Thorn took it.

‘Guide Tien,’ a fourth youth said, ‘I challenged you and lost. Take this as a trophy of your victory,’ he said and pulled off his quiver and handed it to Thorn.

‘Guide Tien,’ a fifth youth said, ‘I challenged you and lost. Take this as a trophy of your victory,’ he said and untied two matching leather bracers from over his arm wraps and handed them to Thorn.

Thorn held the offered trophies and stood there for a moment, and noticed the leader look passed him, and saw one of the men who had flown the great hawks approach and come to stand beside him, and reach out to take the items and then step back at a gesture from the other guide.

‘I am sorry for your loss,’ Thorn said as he turned his gaze back to the five youths, ‘and understand your anger, even though it was misdirected. I hope that they find the murderer and bring him to justice. As for these trophies,’ Thorn said, ‘I will value them, and the spirit they have been given. And I will consider you all to be honourable men as proven by your actions. May we part as friends and fly together as brothers and clansmen.’

Silence was the response and Thorn turned and met the man’s gaze and watched him nod in respect, and then step aside.

‘Follow the arches, and you will find the entrance to the fire caves,’ the great hawk flyer said calmly, ‘beyond it are the swamps, and you can follow them around to the reed groves. May the winds be at your back, young Guide.’

‘Thank you,’ Thorn said and picked up his pace and walked through the encampment.

The crowds who had followed, parted for him; and he looked from skiff to skiff as he passed and took in their construction, and when he reached the edge of the landed skiffs, he picked up his pace and increased to a steady jog, and set himself towards the archway once again.

‘Those were fine words you spoke, Guide,’ Ledel said as Thorn jogged up the hill tiredly.

‘A variation of a tribute from home,’ Thorn said and then sighed, ‘now I’ve got Tian blood.’

‘Perhaps,’ Ledel said, ‘they said you have his bearing. If you fly with them to Keelak, then you’ll be able to see. There are statues of the great heroes of the Keegan there.’

‘Sure,’ Rark growled, ‘and then you can become their King.’

‘The nomads have no King, wolf pup,’ Ledel said in bewilderment.

‘He knows,’ Thorn said, ‘so what is this quest?’

‘A guide quest is the journey to become a nomad guide; a respected position within their society,’ Ledel explained, ‘it is where a young man or woman leaves the protection of his guide and family and builds their first skiff and are tested to see if they have the wisdom and skill to be a guide. All of the Keegan species share this one common tradition, though these are the Werak crafting grounds, and the other tribes have their own.’

‘If I expect them to listen to me, then I will need to be a guide among them,’ Thorn said tiredly.

‘If you expect to do anything that isn’t the decision of another, you will need to be a guide,’ Ledel said, ‘this is why it is called the realm of a thousand kings.’

‘Because each guide is king of his ship and rules all who fly with him,’ Thorn said.

‘What about that chieftain person?’ Rark growled.

‘He keeps the traditions and lore,’ Ledel said, ‘he guides the migration through the hundreds of small lands that the Keegan harvest from.’

‘I get the Werak crystal from the fire caves, the sky vine from the swamp beyond it, and then build the hull and masts from the reeds over there,’ Thorn said with a glance towards the forest of reeds, ‘what about the sail cloth.’

‘I don’t know that much about it, Guide,’ Ledel said, ‘I only know what I have seen before and I haven’t seen anything about their construction. Only that diagram and its writing. There is a list of materials needed from various places, the Werak isn’t the only thing you need from the fire caves. You’ll need something called dusk salts, and you’ll need a lot of it; and you’ll need some black stone for your fire pot, anchor stone as well as many small fittings. You’ll need some of the clear crystal to make flight lanterns and your visor. And you’ll need to craft the tools to build it there and find some way to carry it all. And if you were to make a fighting ship, you’ll need a stone keel. The light wind runners are just reed, but the ones designed for battle, have reeds on the outside with a keel stone along the middle that acts as a ram and strengthens their frame. It makes for a sturdier though less agile skiff. This schematic shows both methods since the fire caves are lit by a lava flow you can forge the stonework out of,’ he said sadly, ‘with a keel stone, there will be less reed binding, which will mean faster construction, but you will have no way to carry it to the sky vines, and no way to carry the sky vines to it.’

‘I think we’ll need one of those stone keels,’ Rark growled, ‘we’re always going to war?’

‘The keel stone will be too large and heavy to carry,’ Ledel said, ‘that is why the first boat is usually made of reed entirely.’

‘No time for that,’ Thorn said and sighed, ‘and a good-sized Werak could carry that, and all the rest with it. That’ll be how they do it.’

‘No,’ Ledel said, ‘though only the Werakee use Werak. You will have to train the Werak to capture your skiff, and to pull it through the sky. Until then you will have to carry it all yourself. At least, as far as the sky vine growths. It is too much for you to carry. Far too much.’

‘Alright Ledel. Rark keep an eye out while I read,’ Thorn said and pulled out the large parchment and unfolded a portion of it and read the notes beside each drawing, ‘ah, the cloth is made in squares which are sewn together; the cloth squares are made by a swamp algae that eats the raw reeds and any other wood like material, and produces a spongy film on the surface of its pool, which is then peeled off in sheets, dried to form cloth squares. That’s why this cloth feels like felt. I’m going to need a lot of reeds,’ Thorn added tiredly, ‘I’m going to need a lot of everything.’

‘I thought you were going to take it easy and recover,’ Rark growled.

‘That was the plan, Rark,’ Thorn replied sadly, ‘I’ll take it easy later when I’ve built my skiff and become a respected Guide.’

‘Or die in the attempt,’ Rark growled.

‘Your wolf pup is correct,’ Ledel said worriedly.

‘Am I?’ Rark growled.

‘The challenge to become a Guide is extremely dangerous,’ Ledel said, ‘the fire caves are full of monsters, as is the poisonous swamp beyond. Few survive this challenge and most do not even attempt it, and instead satisfy themselves with becoming crew for another.’

‘Guide it is then,’ Thorn said tiredly, ‘I don’t have time to follow.’

‘Just like a son of Tian,’ Ledel said.

‘I thought you didn’t know anything about Tian,’ Rark growled.

‘I don’t,’ Ledel said, ‘but the Tialain had a reputation for courage, ingenuity and a strong will, which I assume means that they were stubborn to a fault. It was long said that if the nomads did ever have a king, he would be Tialain. They also had a reputation for being excellent bowmen, so you will have to build and practice with one or they’ll suspect something is wrong.’

‘Yes,’ Thorn said as he examined the schematic, ‘I’d better practice. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I couldn’t use a bow. Ledel, do you have any writing on stone crafting and plant lore for this region?’

‘Yes, Guide,’ the Lorak replied, ‘I have some documents in memory.’

‘Good,’ Thorn said, ‘I’m going to need them also.’

º º º

Welcome heat emanated from the stone around him as he walked along the wide tall ravine towards the fire caves entrance, and occasionally kicked at the packed clay ground curiously, and stared around the rough walls and indications of habitation centuries before. Tall stone entrances were carved into the sides of the ravine, and he approached one and stared into the huge vacant hall beyond, and saw seats and beds carved from the stone walls and were at least twice the height of normal; the seats alone were waist high and clearly designed for a giant-sized person. Apart from the stone furnishings he could see nothing of value and kept on towards the open cave at the end of the ravine.

The ravine ended at a large tunnel and Thorn gradually descended into the earth and kept to the well-trodden central tunnel and ignored the side passageways. He finally came out into a large cavern, with a lava flow that ran along the centre of the cavern floor with a large stone bridge across it that led up to another tunnel, and many ledges and shelves that were full of translucent crystal outcroppings, large patches of natural mushrooms and a levelled area beside the lava flow that had a kind of hoist and stone bucket for pouring molten rock into a large sand pit.

‘Forge works down the bottom there,’ Thorn said, ‘once the stone is poured, I can set to work gathering mushrooms and crystals. Those larger mushrooms should work okay as the containers. I can cut some of them into strips to make rope.’

‘You’ll need the keel, the anchor stone, tools, swords and daggers, along with fittings and arrow heads,’ Ledel said, ‘and stone for your fire box.’

‘And I’ll need the axe to harvest some of those mushroom stalks first,’ Thorn said as he gazed around.

‘You don’t need mushroom stalks,’ Ledel said, ‘that isn’t part of the schematic.’

‘I know,’ Thorn said, ‘the reason stone keel ships are less agile is because they are heavier. Even without the problem of falling from the sky, the more weight you have, the harder it is to turn quickly. I want both sturdy and agile for my ship, so I’ve got to alter the schematic, with a mushroom stalk core, the keel should be lighter and still just as strong. Let’s get to it,’ Thorn said and reached into the pocket and pulled the wolf pup out, ‘Rark, check around and tell me if there are any dangers.’

‘This was a giant’s forge,’ Rark growled, ‘as a pup I heard stories of the ancient forges of the sky giants. It was said that they mined great riches from the earth and lived on vast underground farms of fungus and fish. Eventually the mines dried out and they build huge stone ships and flew to other lands in search of new land to dig up and carried their farms and treasures with them. They were the first nomads. The men like you and all the others joined them when their worlds fell into the abyss. Ledel, wasn’t there something about great caches of weapons or treasure that the sky giants hid in their ancient tunnels?’ the small wolf pup growled curiously.

‘Myths and legends,’ Ledel replied, ‘nothing has ever been found.’

‘And we’re going to be too busy to search for it,’ Thorn said calmly.

‘Search for what?’ Rark growled, ‘did he say something?’

‘Oh,’ Ledel said, ‘the sorcery of this pocket only allows you to hear me.’

‘Right,’ Thorn said and glanced at Rark, ‘only I can hear someone in that pocket. It’s sorcery apparently.’

‘I thought you hated sorcery?’ Rark growled.

‘I do,’ Thorn said and sighed, ‘scout around. I’ll be down the bottom there.’

The small wolf pup glanced around excitedly.

‘Be careful Rark,’ Thorn said cautiously, ‘some of these ledges could be unsteady. I don’t want to fish your cooked remains from the lava flow.’

‘Yes, Guide,’ Rark growled and walked off with a little more hesitation.

‘Right,’ Thorn whispered, ‘where are the Werak? And where are the monsters that were supposed to inhabit these caves?’

‘The werak are the monsters,’ Ledel said, ‘their animalistic imaginings are made manifest to hunt their prey. And as for where they are, I don’t know. They should be here where there is plenty of light.’

Thorn descended the overly large stairs and noticed sections of the stone that had been chipped away very recently, and then glanced around in thought.

‘Somebody has dug them all up,’ Thorn said curiously, ‘very recently by the look of it.’

‘That’s not good,’ Ledel said worriedly, ‘without a Werak you’ll have nothing but your sail to fly with. You can’t be a Werakee clan nomad without a werak.’

‘I guess I am going to have to hunt around,’ Thorn said, ‘once I’ve finished everything here.’

‘How are you going to carry it all?’ Ledel asked worriedly.

‘I’m stronger than I look,’ Thorn replied as he walked towards the large sand pit and considered the shape of the keel and how to tie it in.

º º º

Molten stone poured along the sand and clay lined trenches and over the long series of connected mushroom stalks that ran along its middle and ignited from the heat and burned within the core of the molten rock as it formed the hollow stone keel, with a heavy ram at either end. Thorn carefully guided the molten stone along the trench and ensured it was spread equally; heated by matching trenches on either side so the molten rock didn’t cool too quickly and form cracks in the hard stone. When he’d finished pouring the stone, he moved across to the sand and clay moulds for weapons and equipment that would be needed, which included hundreds of irregular shaped stones that would turn into arrow heads, spear tips, spare axes, knives and swords and shield bracers. He finished by pouring the molten stone into the large block that would act as an anchor.

Thorn lowered the large stone bucket down onto the ground and let the last of the molten rock pour back into the lava flow, and then gazed across the arrayed equipment and then across the small collection of upturned mushroom caps he’d taken the stalks from; and as the stone cooled, he began cutting them apart and tying them together into baskets and containers to hold the rest of the minerals and supplies he had to gather for the construction of the small skiff.

The sound of a yelp reached him, and Thorn rose to his feet as he saw Rark bound over the bridge rapidly, and leap down the stairs several at a time, and tumbled across the sand until Thorn’s tree leech wrapped around him suddenly before he tumbled into the slowly cooling stone of the keel.

‘Someone’s coming,’ Rark growled.

In one move, Thorn spun the small wolf pup around and down into his concealed pocket, and then pulled the crude stone pickaxe he’d first crafted, from the back of his sash and climbed the stairs, and then dropped to a crouch and then dropped down from the stairs and landed at the edge of the lava flow and moved along until he was under the bridge, as he heard huge footsteps enter the cavern.

‘Hold,’ a man said from somewhere, ‘there’s someone working down there.’

‘There shouldn’t be any Guides here now,’ another man said, ‘they should be in the reeds by now, shouldn’t they?’

‘Yes,’ the first voice said, ‘curse the winds, it’s that Tialain we were told about. He’s decided to make a stone keel.’

‘He’ll have seen the Werak are missing,’ another man said, ‘he’ll tell the Werakee chieftain.’

‘What difference does it make,’ a third man said, ‘they can’t harvest them all.’

‘Don’t underestimate their anger,’ the first of the men said, ‘the Werakee believe the Werak are theirs.’

‘I can’t see him,’ one of them said.

‘He’s used clay in the stone moulds,’ another said, ‘they never said he was a stone crafter.’

‘They didn’t say what he was,’ the first man said, ‘he’s not here. He must be gathering more clay from outside.’

‘Back along the tunnel before he sees us,’ the leader said, ‘if we’re not seen then he can’t say who took them. They were bound to find out eventually.’

‘But what about the lamp crystals,’ one of the men said, ‘we were supposed to gather all of those also.’

‘And we will,’ the leader said, ‘after he’s passed through and gone. Now let’s get these Werak back to the ship.’

‘The Tialain’s not going to be happy that we’ve taken them all,’ another one said in amusement.

‘That’s his problem,’ the leader said, ‘and it’s probably for the best. The last thing we need is a lone Tialain confusing prophecy.’

The sound of their talk faded off into the distance, and Thorn knelt at the edge and felt the welcome warmth of the lava flow as it passed.

‘They’ve taken all of the Werak,’ Ledel said, ‘the Werakee will be very angry. They will demand answers.’

‘And probably blame Tien,’ Rark growled, ‘what are we going to do?’

Thorn watched the lava flow along its course and then through the long tunnel that wound off through the island and eventually fell into the abyss.

‘Ledel,’ Thorn said, ‘what melts the stone?’

‘I do not understand, Guide,’ Ledel replied.

‘This world is so cold and falling apart. There is a little water, which could be because of occasional rain falls or hidden ice. But what I don’t understand is what makes the lava flows. I’ve seen them on several different worlds, how can there be flowing lava. Where does it come from?’

‘I don’t know,’ Ledel said, ‘the major lands have sorcerous devices that warm the city, and…and I suppose a large patch of fire stone could do it. Most writings talk of them as natural.’

‘It’s not natural,’ Thorn said, ‘let’s find out.’

He rose and walked back along the narrow edge of the stone carefully and onto the sand, and approached the supplies and carefully cut some of the thick leathery mushroom cap into strips to insulate his feet with, and then hefted some of the woven fungus leather rope over his shoulder, and then rewrapped his wrist cloths to cover his hands, and had a long drink of water from his large concealed water supply, and then with another glance at the slowly cooling keel he set off along the lava flow.

‘Where are you going?’ Ledel asked, ‘you have a skiff to build.’

‘Let him go,’ Rark growled, ‘it doesn’t matter anyway. Without a Werak, we might as well give up.’

‘I’m just exploring, Rark, I’m not giving up,’ Thorn said, ‘I’ve got to let the keel cool anyway and there is something that doesn’t make sense about all this. There’s lots of things that don’t make sense,’ Thorn said, ‘but this one is nearby.’

‘What do you mean, nearby?’ Rark growled worriedly.

‘That lava can’t have flowed far from its heat source,’ Thorn replied, ‘it is still a free-flowing liquid. So, the heat source has to be around here somewhere.’

Thorn followed the hardened edge of the lava flow along, barely able to stand up as he climbed along the rough and extremely hot rocky edge step by step. He noticed that it was regular and of the same rough shape, as though it had been a carved tunnel long ago. The distant sizzle and pop of the molten stone grew gradually louder as he climbed along and came out into a brightly lit cavernous chamber and stepped out onto a carved stone landing and shielded his eyes from the bright light that nearly blinded him. He squinted against the huge light and tried to see as best he could.

‘Look at them,’ Rark growled, ‘they’re everywhere. Watch out, they’ve noticed you.’

‘I can’t see,’ Thorn said and as he crouched there and then felt something strike him and knock him sideways towards the stone landing. He crawled away from the heat and then reached into the pocket until he felt one of the small crystal windows Rark and Ledel watched through, and pulled it out, along with one of the cloths and quickly placed it in front of his face, and then wrapped the cloth around his head to block out the light. His vision was distorted and dizzy for a moment, as though his eyes were about half a pace ahead of him, and he looked down and around and saw a vast carved hall that was filled with glowing crystals of all different sizes, up to waist high with signs of others that had exploded into shards and regrown, while their shards grew elsewhere. In amongst them all, the largest of them fired beams of intensely bright light from their ends towards several cavities, and he saw bright hot molten stone pour from the openings to form the lava flow. All around the chamber were strange shapes of glowing light, each one seemed unwilling to hold a shape and flowed from one form to another as they danced around the air and leaped from the ancient stone surfaces around them.

‘The architecture looks giant,’ Ledel said, ‘I have not heard of any place like this before.’

‘They’ve probably never explored this far,’ Rark growled.

‘They have,’ Thorn whispered and pulled back into the edge as he saw the burned and blackened bodies of previous visitors to the strange cavern, ‘no one ever made it back to tell of it.’

Whispering voices echoed around the chamber and Thorn held his breath as he listened.

‘What is that?’ Rark growled.

‘It’s Akian,’ Ledel said, ‘I think.’

‘Quiet,’ Thorn whispered and closed his eyes to listen.

‘Burn, burn, make the light, burn the stone and make us grow,’ the chant whispered, and Thorn listened to it over and over, ‘burn, burn, make the light, burn the stone and make us grow. Burn, burn, make the light, burn the stone and make us grow.’

‘This is a wonder,’ Ledel said after a while, ‘Akan is a dead language. Nobody speaks it now and nobody can even understand it. They say the ancient Lorak used to speak it in the ages before the cataclysm. Now we just learn the languages of the—’

‘Burn, burn, make the light,’ Rark growled in the Keegan language they’d been speaking, ‘burn the stone and make us grow.’

‘What?’ Ledel said.

‘That’s what they are saying,’ Thorn said, ‘it’s a kind of chant. I’ve got an idea.’

‘Are you going to speak to them?’ Rark growled curiously.

Thorn nodded and moved into a crouch and glanced towards the lava flow in case he had to make a run for it.

‘Sleep, sleep, sleep till dawn,’ Thorn said as he used the language that he seemed to know, ‘soon the sun will make us grow.’

‘You speak Akian,’ Ledel said in astonishment.

‘Quiet,’ Rark growled.

‘Sleep, sleep, sleep till dawn. Soon the sun will make us grow,’ Thorn said in a whisper, ‘sleep, sleep, sleep till dawn. Soon the sun will make us grow. Sleep, sleep, sleep till dawn. Soon the sun will make us grow.’

He kept up the chant of the same sentence again and again, and every now and then he stopped and heard his chant repeated by the whispers, as well as the other chant, and he would take it up again.

‘Sleep, sleep, sleep till dawn. Soon the sun will make us grow,’ he chanted and then stopped and heard the whispers all singing the same chant.

‘Sleep, sleep, sleep till dawn. Soon the sun will make us grow,’ the quiet whispers said, and Thorn relaxed and sat down as he heard the voices whisper his chant.

‘I don’t understand,’ Ledel said, ‘you’ve changed the chant.’

‘Quiet,’ Rark growled.

As they watched the beam of light diminished and then went out and Thorn stared around the chamber and watched as the crystals began going dark, from the older ones to the younger ones, and the glowing fluid figures that floated around the chamber gradually flowed back into their crystals.

‘They’ve gone to sleep,’ Ledel said in confusion, ‘you told them to go to sleep.’

‘The little ones remember the words,’ Thorn whispered as he pulled down the face covering and gazed around, ‘somebody must have begun that chant long ago, and the older ones knew enough to do what was chanted. They burned the stone to make the light. Perhaps they were cleverer than we thought.’

‘And with the light the younger ones could grow,’ Ledel said in wonder, ‘but these lava rivers have been flowing for centuries at least. Ever since the cataclysm or perhaps even before that.’

‘This is the true source of the Werak growths further down,’ Thorn said, ‘some of these crystals have shattered and the shards must have fallen into the lava and survived long enough to grow in the next cavern.’

‘So, now what?’ Rark growled, ‘we take a good-sized Werak and run?’

‘Intelligent or not, we need to take them with us somehow,’ Thorn said and gazed around, ‘I can’t leave them here to die.’

‘Tien,’ Rark growled curiously, ‘didn’t you leave King Xavan’s ship in the Ark of Kantarith?’

Thorn nodded and gazed around the vast chamber as the light gradually dimmed and he saw, far across the vast hall was a gold ship like the Varthian King’s treasure ship, set upon a stone mount. Thorn gazed towards it and then slowly and carefully he moved along through the crystals and leaped over the lava flows, until he reached the ship and stared into it and saw a huge skeleton at least two to three times the size of a man, resplendent in ancient gold armour, with a huge gold sword upon his breast.

‘A giant king,’ Ledel said in wonder, ‘this must have been his tomb.’

‘How is that supposed to fly?’ Rark growled curiously.

‘It’s not,’ Thorn said, ‘it’s like a water borne ship from before the cataclysm. I’ve got an idea.’

‘I know,’ Rark growled, ‘you’re going to put all the crystals in there and then feed them to the nestling stone.’

‘No,’ Thorn said, ‘they are living. I don’t know what the nestling stone would do to them. It might eat the children.’

‘It didn’t eat that tiny little enfayn sorcerer,’ Rark growled.

‘He’s a sorcerer,’ Thorn said, ‘probably gave it a bad taste.’

‘Didn’t mind the Tribunal,’ Rark growled, ‘what are you going to do?’

‘Teach one of the larger ones to eat the ship,’ Thorn said, and then hide it in the pocket with you.

‘In here,’ Rark growled worriedly.

‘Don’t worry, Rark,’ Thorn said, ‘it’ll be quite safe. I’ll have to seal him in a pocket so he can’t hear us.’

‘That King is wearing metal armour,’ Ledel said, ‘real metal armour. And he has a metal sword.’

‘Gold,’ Thorn said, ‘what of it?’

‘It’s metal,’ Ledel said, ‘you could—’

‘I’m just an ordinary boy making a skiff,’ Thorn said, ‘anything more than that and I will attract unwanted attention before I am ready to deal with it.’

‘Like every other kingdom,’ Rark growled in amusement.

‘Even more reason to keep it quiet,’ Thorn said, ‘last thing we want is for someone to realise what these old Werak can do.’

‘Really,’ Ledel said, ‘it would be of tremendous historical significance. If every lava flow is caused by a Werak colony like this, then there would be thousands of them throughout the worlds.’

‘Yes,’ Thorn said, ‘and thousands of adults, each of which could be used to burn an enemy army to ash. I’d rather our enemies didn’t learn of that little trick.’

‘A weapon,’ Ledel said in wonder, ‘I didn’t think of that.’

‘I didn’t think you would,’ Thorn said, ‘and once somebody finds out, then all the lava flows will be dug out to find them.’

‘But only you can control them,’ Ledel said, ‘nobody knows the language. I don’t even know how you do.’

‘I can assure you that there are people who know the language,’ Thorn said, ‘so we’ll keep it to ourselves and hide these ones away apart from the one we’ll use.’

‘Two might be better, if you can carry them,’ Ledel suggested, ‘there’s plenty here.’

‘One is the usual,’ Thorn said, ‘anything more and the Werak may think I’m taking advantage.’

‘Or wonder if you’re behind the theft,’ Rark growled.

‘Yes,’ Thorn said, ‘and we can’t have them think that. Now let’s get every one of these Werak loaded and hidden away. I’ve got a skiff to build.’

‘Yes, Guide,’ Rark growled in amusement.

º º º

A great mass of light flew around the vast cavernous chamber as Thorn stood there with a large forearm-sized crystal in his hands and spoke quiet words in the ancient language of the crystalline life forms. Eventually the light flowed around and then down towards the ship and expanded and engulfed it and then shrunk down and flew along slowly as though tired, and at the last moment it shrunk down and flowed into the large glowing orange crystal which pulsed with light unsteadily and then seemed to calm down to a steady dim glow. Thorn pulled out some cloth and wrapped up the crystal and placed it deep within the pocket that Rark was living within, and then secured the pocket and then turned to stare across towards the small wolf pup who sat nervously beside another crystal that was wrapped in his rag tunic.

‘He’s gone to sleep,’ Ledel said curiously, ‘he must be feeling a bit full.’

‘But he’s not going to eat them,’ Thorn asked.

‘No,’ Ledel said, ‘we can’t eat our own, just the living like insects and small wolf pups.’

‘Rark has been a loyal ally through many battles,’ Thorn said, ‘and he is my friend. If you try anything, then I’ll shatter you with that hammer I’ve got hanging beside you in there.’

‘I was only saying we can,’ Ledel said defensively, ‘not that I would. I cannot eat anything as large as him anyway. And there were so many insects around the markets in Rata that I’ve eaten enough for several seasons. It’s the skiff Werak you have to be careful of.’

‘Alright,’ Thorn said, ‘just be careful what you say. He’s only young and might get the wrong idea also.’

‘I understand,’ Ledel said in his young voice, ‘I’m still coming to terms with being the Lorak of the King of Taroth, Isthia and who knows where else. By the time we reach your world, you may rule all of this one.’

‘Or be left behind. Which we will, if we don’t get a move on,’ Thorn said as he leaped across the glowing lava flows that still flowed steadily along the trench, ‘ready to go?’ he asked the wolf pup.

‘Are you sure it’s safe in there,’ Rark growled.

‘Ledel says he’s gone to sleep,’ Thorn said, ‘probably a bit full. It’s safe. In fact, you may not be edible. The liquid I gave you to stop the Keplin eating you, may stop these Werak and Lorak also. Assuming it’s a similar method of feeding.’

‘Can’t you just carry me?’ Rark growled worriedly.

‘I’ll need both hands for the climb back,’ Thorn said, ‘and those men might have come back.’

‘Alright,’ Rark growled unhappily, ‘so put me in there before you unwrap this one.’

‘Yes, Rark,’ Thorn said and lifted the small wolf pup up and lowered him down into the pocket, and then unwrapped the crystal and pushed the tunic into the pocket out of the way, and then tied the Werak crystal across his back with mushroom leather cord, and then with one last glance back around the vast ancient giant’s tomb, he set off along the lava flow.

º º º

The weight of the long stone keel was heavy on Thorn’s shoulder as he trudged up the stairs towards the bridge a while later. While they had explored the lava flow, the keel stone and the other stone parts, tools and weapons had cooled, and now were tied together by mushroom cap leather straps; with mushroom cap baskets of broken stone, crystal and mushroom; all the necessary ingredients needed for cultivating and crafting the nomad wind runner skiff. He reached the top of the stairs and glanced towards the bridge uncertainly, and then lowered the large keel down to the ground, and then sat down beside it.

‘This is not going to work,’ Thorn said tiredly.

‘As I suggested,’ Ledel said, ‘it is far too heavy.’

‘You need to sleep,’ Rark growled, ‘the only time you’ve slept lately was because of a fight.’

‘No time,’ Thorn said and stepped away, and then pulled the large crystal over his shoulder to his front, ‘flame, take.’

‘He won’t have any idea what that means,’ Ledel said, ‘you might as well be speaking another language.’

‘Good point,’ Thorn said, ‘Blaze,’ he said and looked at the crystal and stroked it, and watched as it lit up a little as though registering the touch. He then pointed to the long keel, ‘Blaze take,’ he said and used the word in the creature’s ancient language.

A burst of fiery light flew out of the crystal and flew around for a moment and then flew back into the crystal again.

‘Blaze take,’ Thorn said in the ancient language.

The burst of fiery light flew out and then flowed along the length of the keel and touched various parts of it, as though it tasted it, and then flowed back into the crystal again.

‘Blaze take,’ Thorn said once again.

The burst of fiery light flew out and this time it flew along and then when it reached one end it expanded and engulfed the long keel from one end to the other and left vacant air, and then flew back into the crystal and then as Thorn went to move, it burst back out and flew along and deposited the keel back where it had been and returned to the crystal. Thorn sighed and closed his eyes.

‘He’s never going to learn,’ Rark growled.

Thorn stroked the crystal again and then said, ‘Blaze take,’ in a firm voice.

The burst of light flew out of the crystal and immediately flew back to one end of the keel and engulfed it again, and then flowed around Thorn for a few moments and then back into the crystal.

‘Good Blaze,’ Thorn said and turned towards the bridge and set off towards the next destination.

‘He has learned fast,’ Ledel said in surprise.

‘Yea, he’s like a pet…ah…pet wolf from back home,’ Thorn said, ‘the mountain tribes near home have them.’

‘A pet wolf,’ Rark growled as though in offence.

‘Back home, the wolves are not intelligent, Rark,’ Thorn said, ‘and some of them are trained.’

‘Oh,’ Rark growled, ‘like a Haregan?’

‘Don’t be unkind, Rark,’ Thorn said, ‘the Haregan were enslaved. That’s not the same thing,’ he said and grunted in amusement, ‘so be kind to them.’

‘Yes,’ Ledel said, ‘especially at the moment.’

‘Why,’ Rark growled, ‘because we’re training a fiery red animal?’

‘No,’ Thorn said as he walked along, ‘because currently you look like a fiery red animal.’

º º º

The stench of the rotting poisonous swamp filled the air as Thorn walked along the trail tiredly as the darkness of early evening closed in upon them. He kept his gaze down so the black garbed men, who thought they were unseen in the darkness of the twisted swamp trees, didn’t know he’d seen and heard them; his Ferinatian eyesight much better in this darkness than the local people who could only see him due to the brightly glowing crystal tied onto his back. Large pools of filthy black liquid lay on either side of him and Thorn wished he’d had the forethought to have a large drink of water before he came out into the open; since his water skins were currently concealed within the pocket so he had to pretend he had no source of water available.

‘They’re not moving,’ Rark growled from within his pocket and Thorn kept his gaze on the path and occasionally glanced around and ensured he didn’t look in their direction until Rark informed him that the three men who watched him from a distance were concealed.

‘Okay, this looks like a good pool,’ Ledel said calmly.

‘One of them has pulled some clothing out,’ Rark growled, ‘I think he’s…oh…they’ve gone behind a tree. I can’t see what they’re doing.’

Thorn stopped and gazed around for a moment and then reached behind his back and stroked the crystal and watched its reflected light brighten slightly.

‘Blaze, give,’ he said and pointed to the ground before him.

The burst of light flew out and shot across the ground and left the long keel stone and all the mushroom baskets and supplies there.

‘Good Blaze,’ Thorn said and stroked the crystal and then gazed around the darkness that was only illuminated by the crystal on his back, and he unslung the crystal and placed him on the keel stone.

Thorn harvested plants and materials and filled several clay-lined mushroom pots with the strange white algae liquid from one of the ponds. He then set to work and pulled down some vines that grew in the shallows and rose straight up above the canopy to get the sunlight; two or three times the length of the small skiff he was building. He planted each one within a small mushroom pot with soil and some of the crushed powders and tied the vines up and bound them around the keel one by one, and watched it get pulled unsteadily off the ground by the strength of the unpainted sky vines. He carefully filled other baskets and even tying dead burnable plant material onto it for weight and fuel later.

‘Hello there, young Guide,’ said a man in the face concealing Werak clothing, and Thorn recognised the voice of the leader of the men who had taken all of the Werak, ‘you look very busy.’

‘Not much time to get a lot done,’ Thorn said, and paused to meet his gaze and then gave a nod, and then glanced around, ‘did the chieftain send you?’

‘No, just curious about how you are going,’ the man said as he got into the spirit of the lie, ‘you didn’t take food or water. How are you enduring it?’

‘The mushrooms helped. I’m a bit thirsty though,’ Thorn said as he returned to work, ‘I’ll be back soon enough, and I’ll drink then. I apologise if I seem unfriendly, but I’m pressed for time.’

‘Of course,’ the man said, ‘you found a Werak I see.’

‘Yes,’ Thorn said, ‘he was hiding out of sight behind some rocks. Took me ages to find him. I don’t know where the rest of them are. I guess the other guides took them. Hey, you’ve been back there. Is there any news of that sorcerer who murdered the other guide?’

‘I haven’t heard,’ the man said and frowned, ‘probably long gone with the skiff he stole.’

‘Hope so,’ Thorn said, ‘makes me nervous being out here alone with some murderous sorcerer wandering about.’

‘Yes,’ the man said and sighed, ‘I’m sure the…ah…the black sails will find him.’

‘Yes,’ Thorn said, ‘well, perhaps I’ll see you back there.’

‘Perhaps you will,’ the man said and nodded, and then set off back through the swamp.

‘What do you think he is?’ Rark growled curiously.

‘Sorcerer,’ Ledel said, ‘he’s got to be.’

Thorn nodded in agreement and returned to work and harvested plants and materials as he dragged the floating keel along through the swamp, and gathered more sky vines to keep it buoyant, and other construction materials to keep it from flying away.

º º º

The dawn light stretched across the sky as Thorn shivered with cold as he walked down the slope towards the lake the next morning. Over his shoulder was the keel, loaded with equipment and sky vines; nearly weightless and grew heavier with each step as the sun brightened and the strange weight defying plants decided they didn’t need to reach towards it as much. He came to a stop in a clearing that has water on one side, the reeds on another and the nearest of the landed skiffs on a third; he lowered the now heavy keel stone to the ground and then walked across to the water’s edge and smelled it. He paused for a moment, aware that back home he wouldn’t even consider drinking such filthy water, though here it was relatively clean by this world’s standards; probably not even poisonous. He had a long drink, and despite his exhaustion, he turned towards the stone keel as it sat upon the anchor stone and then turned